Milan – AS Roma 1:1 (December 29, 2024) Match analysis

AC Milan earned a 1-1 draw at home to AS Roma in a hard-fought and heated Serie A clash on Sunday, with an early goal from Tijjani Reijnders soon canceled out by a stunning volley from Paulo Dybala.

The result moved Milan to eighth place with 27 points, 14 behind Atalanta and Napoli at the joint top, while Roma are in tenth place with 20 points.

The atmosphere at San Siro was tense and in the final game of the year the two teams were issued eight yellow cards.

Artem Dovbyk tested Milan and goalkeeper Mike Maignan in the opening minutes, firing a low shot that hit the post.

Milan broke the deadlock after 16 minutes when Youssouf Fofana advanced into the penalty area and played the ball across to Reijnders, who fired it into the goal with a first-time shot.

Seven minutes later, Roma responded with a moment of footballing magic in the penalty area as Dovbyk sent the ball into the air with a deft backheel, setting up Paulo Dybala to fire a perfect volley into the net to level the score.

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Things got heated in the first half just before half-time when Reijnders went down in the penalty area, but the referee allowed the game to continue. Milan coach Paulo Fonseca’s protests led to his dismissal for dissent.

Milan welcomed the return of Ismaël Bennacer in the second half, his first appearance since suffering a serious calf muscle tear in August. Shortly afterwards, Dovbyk tested Maignan again with a shot from a tight angle, but the French goalkeeper reacted quickly and parried the shot.

The hosts then took control of the game, with Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar making several crucial saves, including a stunning diving stop from Samuel Chukwueze just before the hour mark.

In the closing stages of the game the momentum shifted back to Roma, with Maignan having his shot saved by Stephan El Shaarawy.

Eldor Shomurodov’s header from a free kick was deftly deflected onto the crossbar by Maignan a few minutes from time, even though the Roma substitute was already offside.

Dybala missed the chance to be Roma’s hero in the final moments when he fired a shot just over the crossbar in stoppage time.